Shaolin Kung Fu History

There were approximately 24 dynasties in China, the Ming and Ching were the last. However,the total number of dynasties that ruled China from prehistoric times until 1912 CE is acontested topic. The number depends greatly on the definition of dynasty as well as whatseparates dynasties. Some dynasties are recognized by all scholars, they are the Xia, Shang,Zhou, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. They are the first and last three dynasties respectively. The firstthree are of primary importance as they established and expanded what later became modernday China. The last three represent the decline of the dynastic period that had existed foralmost four-thousand years and resulted in the spread of Shaolin Kung Fu into the wider world.

The Shaolin Temple was built in 495 CE during the Northern Wei Dynasty. It was originally builtby royal decree to create a place for Indian Buddhist monks. It is inferred, from this level ofimperial favor, that the Buddhist monks had been practicing in China for some time and mostlikely had a reasonable following among locals. Through the benevolence of the futuredynasties the Temple greatly increased in size, prosperity and prominence. The Chan Buddhismnow prominent in China is a mixture of the Indian Buddhist, Tao, and Confucianist philosophies.The rise of Martial Arts among Shaolin monks is even more shrouded in mystery and must beviewed through a historical and not a modern lens. During the early 5th century martial artswere widely practiced to varying degrees among the general population. Monasteries werelanded estates that were most likely important centers of cultural and economic significance.The monks themselves were most likely from the surrounding areas. It is therefore notsurprising that raid records from as early as 446 CE show that the monks maintained weaponscaches. This indicates the likelihood that the monks themselves were practicing martial arts andprotecting the monasteries prior to the establishment of the Shaolin monastery in 495 CE.

During the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) the Shaolin Monastery had become known as a source offighting monks. The earliest Kung Fu manual “18 Hands of the Lohan” dates from this era. Themonks even played a role during the transition from the Sui to Tang Dynasty (618-906 CE). Astone tablet at the Monastery commemorates the damaging of the Monastery during a battlebetween the monks and bandits in 628 AD. The monks also captured a prominent figure thatthe Tang considered a threat to their rule. This protected the Monastery from being destroyedor disbanded. From this point forward there is no record of martial arts being practiced at theMonastery. There are two scattered records from 1126 CE and 1275 CE indicating that theywere still training in martial arts. This lack of records may be due, in part, to the tradition ofteaching Kung Fu in an oral method called “Hou Chuen San Sau”. There are some records fromofficials who visited during the 16th century and on-wards but they are scattered.

However, it is clear that the monks continued this practice in earnest. Much of what we knowabout the monastery’s history comes from research done by Tang Hao (1897-1959 CE). He wasa Martial Arts historian who ignored myths and used primary sources to document history.However, many myths still surround the Shaolin Monks. Some of these are used as allegoricalteachings such as the myth of the monk, Zhen Bao, who transformed himself into a flamingstaff to protect Mount Wutai. This myth serves as a call to the monks to maintain readinesseven in peacetime.

During the Ming Dynasty the monastery’s martial artists had grown to prominence. So much so,that the monks would aid the Dynasty in protecting the imperial borders. In the period from1522 to 1566 CE monks fought with the imperial army against the Japanese. This resulted ineven more imperial attention and favor. The Emperor Kangzi provided personal inscriptions forthe Temple.

In 1644 CE the Manchurians, a nomadic people of Mongolian descent, sent their army to invadeChina. They marched all the way to the gates of the Capital in Bei Jing, “The Forbidden City”,and conquered the Ming and the Emperor committed suicide. This was the beginning of theQing Dynasty. The survivors of the Meng royal family, together with loyal supporters in themilitary, fled to the Northern Shaolin Temple. The Northern Shaolin Temple was the firstShaolin Temple, and it is ultimately a blessing in disguise that they left and went to theSouthern Shaolin Temple, because if they had not, it would have been completely destroyed.The royal family enlisted the support of anyone who would rally to their cause to fight theforeign invaders, including the civilian martial arts community.

However, during the transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty in 1644 CE those loyal to theMing sought help from their Shaolin allies. This resulted in the Shaolin becoming a political andmartial target of the Qing government. During the Qing rule over China it was discovered thatthe Southern Shaolin Temple was a refuge for rebels and it was subsequently destroyed. As aresult of this destruction, by the Qing Dynasty, the Shaolin monks fled the temple and werescattered throughout China. This had an unintended consequence of spreading Chan Buddhismand Shaolin Martial arts also outside of China. After finding relative safety the monks began toteach those around them. This resulted in many separate lines or “families” of Shaolin maritalarts becoming established.

Over time those lines have become somewhat distinct, but they all share basic foundations thatwere taught at the Shaolin Temple for centuries. One benefit of this scattering was theincreased popularity of Shaolin martial arts. In turn this popularity has caused many people tostudy the history and techniques as well as the physics of martial arts. Some scholars viewmartial arts as a living breathing art to internalize and cause the student to evolve as a personand reach a higher level of consciousness. Just as students always strive to increase theirunderstanding, so too can new methods and applications be added through this understandingand effort. In the world of Shaolin, the Martial Arts and Chan are one and the same; bothrequire a mind focused on the present moment, being practical, spontaneous, and complete.

There are tens of thousands of Buddhist temples in China, and it is only the Shaolin branch thatpractices martial arts. Compassionate Buddhist monks take up arms and study fighting in orderto test their spirituality; they can be warriors and maintain their spirituality, detachment, andemptiness.

The Northern Shaolin Temple was built In the middle of China at the foot of the Holy mountainof Song Shen, in the province of Henan. It is the origin of all martial arts that were developedfor defense and never for aggression. For more than 1500 years, the monks have developedand perfected these martial techniques known as Shaolin Kung Fu.

These techniques consist of; Meditation, Breathing, Basic Exercises, Basic Movements, Practicaland Effective Self-Defense using Maximum Efficiency in Unarmed Combat, all the while beinggoverned by a higher level of conscientiousness, with no Illusions or Attachments, thus givingthe practitioner freedom from connecting to anything that would prevent them from achievingEmptiness. It is in this state of mind that clear and concise thought can be experienced.Shaolin Wing Chun is a Shaolin Kung Fu system, developed by Grand Master Benny Meng(Muung’ Hing Fung), using the teachings of Hung Lung Sin Fu Faat Mun Paai that follows theoriginal concepts and principles that were established by the monks of the Shaolin Temples, ofwhich he is a Disciple. The essence of Shaolin Wing Chun is that it embraces its history, all WingChun lineages, and includes all aspects of combat. It is evident that the breadth and depth ofmartial arts requires the marriage of Martial Science and Martial Arts. Shaolin Martial Scienceis defined as the fundamental architectural reasoning, used by the monks, that provides theefficiency necessary for the techniques to become real. Shaolin Martial Arts is defined as adeeper understanding of the mind-set of the monks as they developed the techniques. TheShaolin Wing Chun system embodies both definitions.

A true assessment of any martial art can be measured by answering three questions; is it realwhen it is engaged, is it spontaneous in its deployment, and is it complete in all ranges ofcombat. Over the 1500 hundred years of Shaolin Kung Fu the answer to all three questions hasbeen a resounding yes! The Shaolin Wing Chun system also answers yes to these questions.The primary goal in Shaolin Wing Chun training is to improve the life of the student and to raisetheir level of conscientiousness, as in the temples, daily meditation is a requirement. There areother basic requirements that govern all of the training in the Shaolin Wing Chun system. TheThree Treasures of Shaolin, The Six Wisdoms, The Six Criteria, The Eight Shaolin Enlightenments,and the Ten Kung Fu Concepts must be taught. The training is dynamic and will go through the“Shaolin Halls”. The basic foundation to be learned are the “Four Ranges of Combat”, and theuse of the human weapons; Ti (Kicking), Da (Striking), Shuai (Throwing), and Na (Capturing andControlling) to deploy in each range.

Wing Chun is the core of the Shaolin Wing Chun system, because it has the most efficientUtilization of techniques in the most efficient combat range, the trapping range.

There are many Wing Chun linages and Grand Master Benny Meng is the originator and founderof the “Shaolin Wing Chun” system, and the curator of the Ving Tsun Museum, has had theprivilege of training in the historical as well as the progressive lineages of the art of Wing Chun.He also developed the Hung Lung Sin Fu Faat Mun Paai training methodology, and it’s thetraining progression for propagating the Martial Arts.

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